As successful as e-Commerce is, having a brick-and-mortar presence is increasingly a rite of passage for retailers that began as online-only players. Even the mighty Amazon sees value in opening stores. Now, stationery and home décor retailer Minted has joined its e-Commerce-only counterparts Birchbox, Warby Parker and Casper by opening Minted Local, a pop-up shop in San Francisco.
Minted was founded in 2007 as an e-Commerce stationery marketplace for independent artists and it has expanded into wall art, textiles, digital content and home décor. The pop-up, located in San Francisco’s Union Square shopping district, will allow customers to touch and see the artists’ products and custom art first hand. The store will also offer a variety of exclusive products that are not available online.
“Our crowdsourcing process — sourcing from independent artists and allowing people to vote to tell us what to sell — allows us to surface the best, freshest, and most unique art and design in the world,” said Mariam Naficy, Founder & CEO of Minted in a statement. “Now, we bring our consumers closer to these works and the process of creating them with quality.”
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Minted Local also will feature a variety of in-store experiences for customers, including:
- A Stylist bar where customers can make appointments to receive expert home decorating help;
- Complimentary custom art prints letter-pressed with customers’ names; and
- An interactive play area for children;
While the pop-up will only be open through October 2016, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Minted open permanent brick-and-mortar locations in the future. Retailers such as Birchbox, Warby Parker and Bonobos all started with pop-up shops before opening permanent stores.
